AAAH THOSE TEENAGERS TODAY, THEY HAVE NO.....

I love Easter !
I know what you`re thinking, it must be the chocoholic in me that enjoys it so much right ?
No actually, well at least not just THAT.
You get 4 days off which it isn`t anything to neglect.
You get to stop time for a while and see family and friends.
It did me gooood.
I enjoy seeing my family.
They`re fun to be around and it`s always casual, stressfree and fun.
If I had to choose my family : brother and sisters and their respectful spouses, it would have been them.
I know NOT everybody can say that and when I hear their family horror stories, I have to agree with them.
Take Saturday for instance.
We celebrated Rose`s birthhday ( March 23= Easter ) on Saturday so she could get her own special day and had my family over.
We had 6 kids in the house and it didn`t even show, they were glad to be together and while the boys were playing hockey, the girls drew and decorated Easter cookies.
The grown ups chatted and ate .
Us sisters talked and laughed. And laughed. As usual.
What a treat to stop time for a little while and abandon the hectic schedule and routine.
And let`s not forget the chocolate !

I went to the fashion show again this year and have to be very honest, it was really good.
As you know and can observe, I am NO fashion adept.
I hate shopping and avoid malls as much as possible.
But I had the chance to be a judge for our show`s models again this year and had to go see the actual show.
Pierre did too, he was responsible of filming the evening , do the montage and make 40 copies of the DVD.
Yeah, I was kind of a widow this Easter weekend thanks to the DVD but what the hey, that `s life.
The 40 copies will be done for this week for sure.
The final montage is grreat and entertaining.
You guys should be very pleased with it.


This Good Friday afternoon was the annual selling of the Pain de l`amitié.
Pier-Luc and Ralph had asked me before March break if I could be their chauffeur and give them a hand.
I never have a problem giving time when it`s for a good cause, but VERY COLD weather was not in my contract as I told the boys while we were warming up in the truck.
But hey, I`m a tough cookie. I`ve seen much worse. Bring it on !
And it was worth it.
Despite the weather, we had a very good time and time just flew.
Next thing you know, it`s time to go back to headquarters and report back.
I would like to congratulate Marc Dion and the gang for the well organized affair.
MarkieD, you rock !
To my daughter Rose-Anne who came along to " help collect money for poor people who have no food and not nice house and need vitamins for their health " ( she may be 6 but knows what poverty is ! )
I want to tell her : " Mommy`s proud, you are a very determined little girl especially when it comes to help your fellow man! "
To Pier-Luc, my Knight in White: " Thanks for letting Rosie tag along, it was very important for her to help poor children ."
To Ralph : " Thanks for your warm smile, it helped and worked "

To all the old folks who keep complaining : oh these teenagers today ......you know the drill, you guys need a reality check and hang around teachers for a day, you`ll see most teenagers have more manners and heart than many adults!!
Enough with my ranting already!


On a different note:

There once was this woman so fed up with the snow,
Everyday she complained
Unfortunately it just wouldn`t go
One day she`d had it with complaining
And decided she`d go with the swing
She played and laughed with it everytime it snowed
And at night her bar-b-q and Mustang she`d woo.
So finally whining and complaining she is through
Amen.

Ever since I bought my son a basketball net and my daughter rollerblades, it has snowed ALOT.
It`s as if Mother Nature is laughing at me.
So I laugh back and accept the snow.
There`s nothing I can do anyway, you can get angry at Mother Nature, but she has the last word and the last laugh.

To my students, I say : Hope you got lots of rest because this is what I consider the last stretch before the end of the year.
This means one last bit of school work before the June review and exams.
Two months of intensive work.
So strap your hat on and get ready for the ride, it could get bumpy.
My job is to make it as smooth as possible for ya.
I`m not Mae West but I`ll do my best.
Tata,
Annie

ODE TO THE MEN IN MY LIFE

There are 2 types of men in my life : the one in my personal life and the ones in my professional one.

Yes ladies and germs I am considered a professional.

The first time I was called this was at the bank when I asked for a loan ( in other words a lot of money ) when the bank manager asked me what I did for a living I said I was a teacher.

He replies : Aaah, a professional.

I asked him how many months I had to live because I thought he was saying I had a terminal illness or something.

Bottom line, the more student loans you have to pay back, the more you are a professional.

The 2 most important men in my personal life are: of course the love of my life : Pierre.

Don`t get the barf bag, I`ll stop here.

The second is my son : Félix-Antoine.

As much I would like to exchange him for a case a beer sometimes because he drives me nuts, I love him to death.

The other three are : Paul Lachance, Frank Brisson and yep, HIM again,Pierre.

When I grow up I`m gonna be just like them :

devoted, very passionate, untiring quest for quality to name a few .

Frank Brisson is a mentor for me. He`s a model. He`s smart, very sly ( I like that in a person )and original. He`s witty, creative, FUNNY and a great human being with a big heart. I often go to him when I have to deal with a serious professional problem . When I encounter little problems, I often ask myself : What would Frank do ? and then give it a try. Usually works.

He loves his job and gets discouraged at times but he never gives up. He`s very realistic yet he`s not cynical. I tend to be cynical with age and it`s not pretty.

It is a professional challenge at the moment. I still love the students, don`t get me wrong, it`s the machine outside the classroom that`s driving me nuts- but that`s a whole different blog altogether.

Then there`s my pal Paul. He`s my office neighbour, a co-worker, someone I love to make laugh and he`s not an easy audience. He likes my jokes most of the time and he can have a wicked sense of humor himself. I made him choke on his water today at lunch with a joke and that cracked me up.When I can make Paul laugh, I`m darn good.

He is very intellectual but not stiff, he likes to dress nicely, he`s very knowledgeable but not snotty, curious and interesting.

We can talk about anything and it`s never dull.

I personally loooove history and when I have a question ( literature and history are often related) I go to him. Not only will I get a straight answer but pictures, dvd support, maps and posters to go with it.

This dude is thorough, intense and mega-qualified.

Who can make history come alive besides Paul seriously ?

He also has great judgement and is always willing to assist.

Do you want the top ten reasons I admire these men or the whole list ?

I`m not done.

Then there`s Pierre.

I know I know, I hear ya say, of course he`s your husband.

Excuse me, I am a professional so I can make an objective judgement.

# 1- He`s cute.

#2- He`s very devoted and does not count the hours invested in his school projects : after school, weekends, weeknights.

#3- He`s very creative and original.

#4- Doesn`t like routine

#5- Loves his work: says it and it transpires.

#6- Loves his students.

We could complain about our students at home after work but it`s something we never do: bad habit which doesn`t amount to anything anyway.

He always talks about his students in a positive way.

I admire that.

I also wish to mention my dear dear friend Patrick Bernier : the whiz kid.

He`s always there to help out when I need technological help and that always for free and with a smile.

He does this on his own time so while he`s working on my stuff requiring technical talents, he`s not correcting.

Ironically, as I am writing this blog, he just called me because he`s working on our new English Concentration logo. It`s 8:17p.m.

But I surely do not appreciate him just for his technological talents, he`s a good buddy too.

So on that, here are a few pics of La Semaine Des Arts and pics of my pets : It was my Sec.2`s homework today.

Here goes : The students first then the pets.

Tata,

Annie

Sec.5 and 4 Intensive English: The Band

Aren`t they cute ?

Rosie and Snow : he is 16 years old with one green eye and a blue eye.

Rose, Baileys

Filou, Baileys

MUSTANG FEVER

I love horses.
With a motor.
Mustangs are in my opinion the best looking car on the planet.
For some it`s Miatas or Beetles.
To them I say: Get a real car !
I like the new models but adore the old ones.
How are they different ?
Do you have an hour ?
I am certainly no expert in Mustangs.
I do know their history by heart and certainly have a weak spot for the Shelby Mustangs.
My wallet is too weak to own one unfortunately.
Freedom, youth and power.
That`s what it represents.
A time when I was young and the old people ( people who were my age now ) drove them with a smile.
My daughter likes them because of the horsie on the front grill.
I love its sound.
You know one is coming just by the sound. Like a Harley Davidson.
Ironically I can NOT stand the sound of a straightpipe Harley !
It drives me nuts and invites me to smack the driver.
So why do I spend a lot of my money restoring a 1973 Mustang ?
Why do I NOT mind when Pierre spends a day in the garage under the hood ?
Because it`s beautiful.
Like the saying goes : Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
There are lots of beholders who agree with me.
A few minutes ago as I was writing this blog, Pierre started the Mustang in the garage.
It`s 9:00 pm, the kids are sleeping and I almost fell down the stairs to run to the garage.
Mind you I haven`t heard her motor in 3 months...an ETERNITY.
She has a new starter and new parts I can not spell.
She needs a new battery and lots of other expensive tender love and care but what the hey, she needs to be up and running in 3 months.
Are we May yet ?
It`s not just the car, it`s the feeling of the car.
Hey, I give up, I can not explain it and to sum it up reasonably and logically would just take away the magic, the oumph of it.
No I did not forget my medication nor have I taken a double dose .
We all have a passion right ?
You know that little something in your life that is illogical and only you can appreciate.
Well you and other nuts like you who share the same illness/passion.
I`m lucky, I have 2 passions, besides my kids of course.
Books and Mustangs and drummers.
Make that 3 then.
Drummers are special. Funny Pierre was not a drummer when I married him....
Books, I love their smell, love to touch them, read them and reread them.
Favorite book of all time ?
The Summon by John Grisham.
He kept me up in the wee hours of the night.
I would go to work sleeping standing up because of that book.
After I`d read it, I wish I hadn`t so I could reread it again for the first time.
Yes it was thaaaaat good.

Coming back to Mustangs, if I could do a Doctor`s degree on the subject, I would.
Ummmm now that`s an idea.
But seriously, I don`t wanna sound like a t.v commercial but once you `ve driven one you`re hooked.
And to think I wanted a 1967 Chevy Impala....What was I thinking ?
You wanna know how it feels, write me a note and I`ll take you for a spin.
The key words are : Mustangs Rock.
That`s all you`ll need to say and you `ve got yourself a free ride.
Except on the day of the prom.
Yep I`ll be driving someone from Sec.5 Intensive to his / her prom in the Mustang: from home to school and from school to the MS Jacques Cartier.
Torture me I won`t tell.
Does the person know ?
Why of course he/she knows already.

On that, I `ll go pet my metallicar in the garage and Pierre too while I`m at it.
He`s turning out to be a real grease monkey thanks to Metallicar.
Grease Monkey : someone who works in mechanics as a job or hobby.
Pierre the Grease Monkey, ummmm sounds like a children`s book or a dirty movie.
Anyway, have a great week.
See ya in 5 days.
Tata,
Annie XXxx